Within the body of romantic and tragic legend that has grown up around the 50thKentucky Derby winner is the story—tragic enough—of a good but ill-starred racehorse. Whether or not it is true that Al Hoots had a deathbed vision of a Derby winner coming from a mating of his mare Useeit with Colonel E. R. Bradley's good stallion Black Toney, Black Gold was a popular and deserving Derby winner and ended up winning 18 races and over US$111,000 for Hoots' widow Rosa. It seemed as if Black Gold had earned a happy ending when he went off to stud at the end of his 3-year-old season, but he turned out to be virtually sterile and was returned to training. Plagued by chronic quarter cracks, he dropped down the class scale and was destroyed after breaking a leg in a purse race at the Fair Grounds. He was buried in the Fair Grounds infield near the grave of the great sprint mare Pan Zareta.

Race record

35starts, 18wins, 5seconds, 4thirds,US$111,553

1923:

Won Bashford Manor Stakes (USA, 4.5FD, Churchill Downs)

2nd Cincinnati Trophy (USA, 6FD, Latonia)

2nd Tobacco Stakes (USA)

3rd Breeders' Futurity (USA, about 5.75FD, Lexington)

1924:

Won Louisiana Derby (USA, 9FD, Jefferson Park)

Won Derby Trial (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)

Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)

Won Ohio State Derby (USA, 9FD, Maple Heights)

Won Chicago Derby (USA, 10FD, Hawthorne)

3rd Latonia Derby (USA, 12FD, Latonia)

3rdRaceland Derby (USA, 10FD, Raceland)

Honors

National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1989)

Fair Grounds Hall of Fame (inducted in the inaugural class of 1971)

Assessments

Ranked fifth among American 2-year-old males of 1923 by The Blood-Horse

Ranked third among American 3-year-old males of 1924 by The Blood-Horse

As an individual

A good-looking black who was somewhat on the small side, Black Gold was willing and courageous on the track but was plagued by chronic quarter cracks. He was initially retired due to lameness in his left foreleg and was never sound during his return to racing. He was short-coupled and had a more sloping than average croup.

As a stallion

Black Gold sired only one foal during his time at stud, a colt that was killed by a lightning strike.

Connections

Foaled at Bluegrass Heights Farm in Kentucky, Black Gold was bred and owned by Mrs. Rosa Hoots, who reportedly turned down as much as US$50,000 for her colt in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby. He was trained by Hanley Webb.

Pedigree notes

Black Gold is inbred 4x5 to 1875 Derby Stakes winner and three-time English champion sire Galopin, 5x4 to two-time American champion sire Bonnie Scotland, and 5x5 to the great foundation mare Queen Mary. He was by far the best horse produced by his tail-female line in half a century or more.

Books and media

Black Gold, a fictionalized account of Black Gold's life, was written by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis. The book was originally published in 1957 and was reprinted by Aladdin in 1992.

Black Gold, a 1947 movie from Allied Artists starring Anthony Quinn, was loosely based on the real-life horse.

The story of Black Gold's Derby is told in “A Dream Derby,” the seventh chapter of The 10 Best Kentucky Derbies. Written by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horse, the book was released by Eclipse Press in 2005.

Another account of Black Gold's Derby win is “Black Gold: The King of Derby Winners,” the 17thchapter in Jim Bolus' Derby Magic(1997, Pelican Publishing Company LLC).

After Al Hoots refused to honor a claim made for Useeit at the old Juarez track in Mexico, both he and the mare were ruled off the track for life. According to Jim Bolus, it was said to have been Colonel Bradley who intervened on Hoot's behalf to allow Useeit to be reinstated for breeding purposes.

Black Gold was named for the popular slang term referring to oil, which had recently been discovered in Oklahoma at the time of his birth.

Black Gold was only the second Kentucky Derby winner to be bred by a woman and owned by a woman (the first was Elwood, bred by Mrs. J. B. Prather and winner of the 1904 renewal for Mrs. C. E. Durnell) and was the first to be bred and owned by the same woman. Because Rosa Hoots was partly of Native American ancestry, Black Gold was sometimes referred to as “the Indian horse” in the news reports of his day.

Black Gold's Derby victory sparked what has been called “The Great Runout” and “Black Saturday” among bookmakers who found themselves unable to pay winter book bets made on the Derby favorite back when he was a 100-1 longshot.

Black Gold was the first Kentucky Derby victor to be awarded the golden trophy that is now a traditional part of the winner's awards. The original trophy was made in honor of the Derby's 50th anniversary and was designed by George L. Graff. Since then, a 14-karat gold trophy surmounted by an 18-karat gold horse and rider and embellished with an 18-karat horseshoe has been individually crafted for each Derby winner. Half-size silver replicas go to the winning trainer, jockey and breeder.

Black Gold was the first Kentucky Derby winner to win four Derbies during the course of his 3-year-old season. Claude, a 1900 son of Lissak and Lida H., had previously won four Derbies, but his collection of these 3-year-old prizes included the California, Tennessee, St. Louis and Canadian versions.

On the day following Black Gold's death, public schools were closed in New Orleans to allow children to attend the popular horse's funeral.

The Black Gold Stakes is run annually at the Fair Grounds. As of 2018, it is carded for 3-year-olds at about one mile on the turf. Tradition requires the winning jockey to take flowers and lay them on Black Gold's grave.